Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com
A new online paper:
M. Debuysschere, E. Gheerbrant & R. Allain (2014)
Earliest known European mammals: a review of the Morganucodonta from
Saint-Nicolas-de-Port (Upper Triassic, France).
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (advance online publication)
DOI:10.1080/14772019.2014.960486
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2014.960486#.VGGIE_nF_To
The Rhaetian locality of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port (France) has yielded
the most abundant and diverse mammalian assemblage known from the Late
Triassic. Most of the material remains undescribed. We review here the
morganucodonts from Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. We identify the upper and
lower molariforms of the genus Brachyzostrodon. We also identify in
the site Morganucodon peyeri, previously known from the Late Triassic
of Hallau (Switzerland), as well as the genera Paceyodon and
Paikasigudodon. The description of the new species Megazostrodon
chenali sp. nov. extends the stratigraphical and geographical range of
the genus, previously known from the Early Jurassic of southern
Africa. Finally, another new morganucodont, Rosierodon anceps gen. et
sp. nov., is described. The Morganucodonta is recognized as the most
diverse order of Late Triassic mammals. Current fossil data suggest
that Europe was the centre of initial diversification of
morganucodonts at the end of the Triassic, and that morganucodonts
were not much affected by the extinction event at the
Triassic/Jurassic transition.
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0D30F723-7D65-49B7-8375-BF916BFA0BBA